Beloved New York Bakery Glaser's, Famous For Its Black And White Cookie, Planning To Close

Last month, Glaser's Bake Shop on New York's Upper East Side celebrated its 116th anniversary. It does not plan to celebrate its 117th.

Glaser's saddened its customers last week, when it announced it will close on July 1. It has been at its First Avenue location since it was founded by John Herbert Glaser, a German immigrant, in 1902.

"After being a Yorkville institution for 116 years, Glaser's Bake Shop plans to close July 1, 2018," reads a sign in the bake shop window. "It goes without saying that everyone at Glaser's thanks the generations of customers who've allowed them to be part of their celebrations for over a century."

Glaser's (pronounced glah-sirs) might be just another neighborhood place, but it is famous for an iconic treat known by New Yorkers and many other lovers of sweets: the black and white cookie.

It's a soft cookie dipped half in chocolate and half in vanilla icing, the two sides meeting perfectly down the middle.

Herb Glaser, grandson of the founder, says Glaser's doesn't claim to have actually invented the black and white. It actually may have roots in Utica, New York.

Glaser, 65, who has worked there since he was a boy, remembers having two black and whites with a glass of milk for dessert at lunch time.

The black and white was mainly a New York thing, until it was featured in an episode of Seinfeld called "The Dinner Party."

Once America discovered the black and white, Glaser's basked in the attention received by the cookie. Its version is the size of what used to be a normal cookie, rather than the CD-sized black and whites that are sold in every deli and bakery across the city, and in many places around the country.

Glaser bakes them himself in the bakery kitchen, which can be seen by customers waiting to place their orders. He believes the fact that they're made a few feet from the cash register trumps what can be purchased elsewhere.

"You can make it in the back and bring it to the front. The ones you get in the delis, they’re made somewhere," he says, with a shrug.

Unlike other New York establishments that have been lost to the ages, Glaser's isn't blaming high rents for its decision to close. In fact, Glaser said his family owns the building, and he lives in an apartment upstairs, as his parents did.

If it didn't, Glaser says the decision to close might have come much sooner. He estimates he would have to pay $15,000 a month for an equivalent space.

"We would have been out of business a long time ago. We couldn’t do it," Glaser says. "I don’t know how anyone does it who doesn’t own their building. Real estate taxes are high enough, but rent on top of that…"

Glaser admits he doesn't keep a close watch on revenue, and declined to say how much business the shop does per month. But its busiest time is the Christmas holiday season, and its busiest day has always been the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

On that day alone, Glaser says the bakery sold hundreds of dozens of pies. "We just kind of make what we can," he says. "We're limited in what we can produce here.

The workload has been tough on Glaser, his brother John and his brother's children, who are the Glasers now running the business, along with four other employees.

Glaser's brother starts work at 1 am, while Glaser comes downstairs at around 8 am. In fact, Glaser was decorating a cake with rich chocolate ganache and bright pink and red roses when I stopped in for a chat.

He says he's been approached by others interested in renting the space and running it as a bakery. Indeed, New York abounds with bakeries, new and old, and with the shop's reputation, it's likely customers would keep coming even under new ownership.

But he and his brother decided they simply weren't interested in becoming landlords. They'd rather close, and sell the building, where "John Glaser Inc." is inlaid in blue and white tile in the bakery floor.

"There’s a little guilt, but I realize it’s the right decision for now," Glaser says.

He cautions that anyone who's tempted to get into the bakery business must be completely dedicated to the task. "You commit your life to the business. That’s how people used to do it, less so now," he says.

That's especially true when something is family run. "It’s hard work and long hours and you don’t just do the baking, you do the book keeping and the other paperwork, too," Glaser says.

The thing he will miss most about the business, he says, is the customers. He has known some of them from babyhood to adulthood, and readily comes out from behind the counter to chat with his littlest shoppers.

"People are very supportive and enthusiastic and grateful. It’s a nice thing," he says.

While it will be missed, Glaser's is going out on a high note, as its farewell sign reflects.

"Few businesses will ever have the privilege of knowing the loyalty, goodwill and friendship that have been extended to the Glaser family and those who've worked behind the bakery counter," reads the placard in the window.

"We truly couldn't have remained here since 1902 without all of you! With deep gratitude and appreciation, The Glaser Family."

I'm an alumni of the New York Times and NPR. I learned to cook from my mom, and studied with Patricia Wells and at Le Cordon Bleu. E: vmaynard@umich.edu T: @mickimaynard I: @michelinemaynard Sorry, I don't honor embargoes.